Sanger Sentinel

Article by: Donna Green, Director of Marketing, Sanger

Welcome to this 1st edition of Meet your Sanger Officers. Some of you may have heard of Officer Ryan McLearen aka @OfficerMcLovein from his TikTok (83k+ followers) and Facebook fame, or perhaps from his YouTube Channel. Others have felt the positive energy he emits as he interacts with residents and visitors during events or the smile and friendly wave as he patrols the neighborhoods. No matter where you see him, you will always find him working to make the City of Sanger a better place to live, work, and play. I had the privilege and honor of spending a few hours with Officer McLearen for a ride-along where I got to go behind the scenes to see exactly what our officers do to keep us safe plus, I was able to interview him and uncover a little about the man behind the camera.

So, who is the man behind all of the hilarious social media? Ryan McLearen was born and raised in Rockville, MD. He has a wife and three beautiful children. In his free time, when he is not playing with his children or creating his next video to go viral, he collects all things transportation-related such as signs, switch lights, etc. He even owns one of the “old school” radar guns. One of the questions I love to ask first responders is why they do the work they do. For McLearen, he says that he has always wanted to be a cop.

He remembers the exact time that he just “knew” what he wanted to be when he grew up. It was during a ride-along when he was in the Junior Police Academy. He recalled the experience by saying, “I was terrified on that first ride. I had on my junior cop uniform and my bulletproof vest. I felt like I was on top of the world. ” That first high-speed chase turned his hands white-knuckled. He told me, “Since I couldn’t feel my seatbelt, I kept checking over and over to see if it was on. ” The events of that experience stuck with McLearen. From that moment on, he knew he would grow up to be a cop and protect the residents of his town.

It would be many years later before he put on the uniform. In fact, he waited until he was 30 to pursue his dream. When asked why he waited so long, he stated, “I wanted to wait until I grew up. Putting on the badge is a big responsibility. In my 20’s I wasn’t ready. I would have been arrogant and most likely unsuccessful. By the time I went through the academy, I had calmed down and life had taught me a lot of valuable lessons. Those lessons make me the cop that I am today.

On Thursday night, November 18th, I was able to experience a day, or in this case, a night, in the life of a Sanger Police Officer. I didn’t have any of the fear that the young Ryan McLearen experienced as a junior officer. Rather, I was full of excitement. You know that adrenalin rush you get when you are the one being pulled over by the police, I felt much like that. After suiting me up with a bulletproof vest and walking me through the rules of dos and don’ts, we were off.

Officer McLearen was careful to explain everything that he was doing. There is a procedure he follows every shift. He has a love for the people of Sanger, cares for the children, and works hard to be a good role model. Especially for those children who may not have a lot of positive influences in their lives.

As he drove through the neighborhoods, the kids who knew him waved. He visited the locations where he usually interacts with groups of people. On this particular night, he was bummed that the teens he had spent some skateboarding time with earlier in the month were not out and about.

This was a particularly quiet night. Nothing “exciting” was going on. Even traffic on 35 was unusually light. To pass the time, I began to ask more questions. The roof of the patrol car was covered in police patches. It was fascinating to see just how many were up there. Not a single empty spot was left.

Officers love to collect badges from other police departments. McLearen carries several with him in the event that he has the opportunity to trade. He told me that he has boxes of patches from other departments. It was his daughter’s idea to put them in his cruiser. It is a great conversation starter for anyone who finds themselves in the back of McLearen’s car. His tattoos also serve as a great conversation item. When interacting with someone who also has tattoos, comparing ink tends to relax the situation a bit. He told me that talking with people about tattoos allows people to see him as a regular person, just doing his job.

Finally, about 45 minutes into “my shift” , we have our first traffic stop. Officer McLearen turns on his voice recorder and body camera then he opens his computer to run the plates. Before stepping out of the vehicle, he turns on the audio and camera in the cruiser so I can see and hear the stop. I know getting pulled over isn’t fun. I have been pulled over my fair share of times. As I watched McLearen approach the vehicle, I noticed the precautions he was taking. He walked slowly up to the vehicle, shinning his light inside to make sure he was not walking into a dangerous situation. “Good evening, sir. May I please see your license and registration?” As the gentlemen hands over the required documentation, McLearen asks him if he knows why he was being pulled over. In this instance, it was nothing more than burned-out tail light. While talking to the man, he notices a young little boy about 4 years old in the back seat. I can hear him talking to the child in a soft soothing voice. He is asking him how he is and reassuring him everything is ok. He tells the driver that he will not be giving him a ticket, only a warning but to please get the taillight fixed ASAP. He asks the man to sit tight for just a moment as he walks back to the cruiser.

Not only can they detect your speed, but they can also detect the speed of those around you. As I finished my ride-along with Officer McLearen, true to his social media fans, he snapped the above picture of us. I encourage you to follow the @sangertxpolice Facebook page or any of McLearen’s personal social channels. He is certain to make you smile.

Once back in the vehicle, McLearen takes a look at the report from running the plates. The car is not stolen, plates are good, and insurance is current. The driver’s information gets input into the system. He is all clear. He has a bit of history with speeding but no outstanding warrants. Officer McLearen returns the man’s license and insurance card then takes a sticker out of his pocket for the kid. He wishes them both a good night and they are off. This was the pattern for the evening. We pulled several people over but each time he only issued a warning. I ask why he was just giving warnings. He said everyone I have pulled over tonight is just like me. They are trying to juggle, work, home, and everything else. We are all people just trying to get by. He does have a few non-negotiables. First and foremost, people who drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Second, anything that puts the welfare of a child in jeopardy. Violations that fall in these categories are certain to land you in the hot seat. One other bit of insider information for those of us with a heavy foot – radar detection technology is incredible. Officers can sit on the side of the access road and monitor traffic coming from both directions.